Growing up I was always a big fan of cookies and milk, such a sweet & simple treat that just seems to go together naturally.

My most fond memories are from when I got to help make them from scratch, but there are other times that I just remember going to the hair salon with my Grandma, where her hairdresser always had a tin of Danish butter cookies. My Grandma would sit under the hair dryer and send me over to get her a small cup of black coffee and some cookies. I always skipped the coffee until I got a little older and realized just how delicious a heavily creamed & sweetened cup of coffee could be.

While helping out in the front of the store last week, I happened to look up from where I was cashiering and across from me was our variety of Bahlsen cookie boxes.

Now when I say variety I mean it, there are some that are chocolate coated, dipped, some with crème filling, and others with fruits. There are crispy cookies and soft cookies; Bahlsen seems to have made it their goal to offer something to fulfill every particular cookie craving a person could have.

While I do love the options available, my heart got set on the Kipferl. In the trademark blue Bahlsen box it is a simple and plain looking cookie in the shape of a crescent. The next morning I grabbed box and a fresh cup of piping hot coffee and took a seat at my desk. Since it was still early it was really nice to sit and enjoy a little peace before preparing for the day. Just as I had expected the cookies have a delicious slightly buttery taste, and the only real sweetness comes from the light bit of sugar on the outside.

Made with finely chopped bits of hazelnuts it really blows pecan sandies out of the water. They were moist and delicious and went so well with my coffee; it was just a wonderful treat and a fantastic start to my morning.

Last week Theo was chatting with a guest in the market about some of the great candy & chocolate that they enjoyed in Germany. When Christina got home from her visit last month we spent some time talking about the difference of the options found abroad. She said a common trend that she noticed was how in Germany the chocolates were smoother and not overly sweet. Most confections were either light & fluffy or packed with marzipan, fruits or nuts. Taking a look at the candy & chocolate variety we are able to carry at the market that would seem to be the case.

When the guest came through to check out she had a package of the milk chocolate Schoko-Reis. It was then that my curiosity was really piqued and proceeded to eat away at the back of my mind until I gave in. I grabbed the same kind she had and went back to my desk to see what this was all about. Since my German comprehension is minimal at best I was at least able to understand the front of the package: chocolate with rice puffs.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I opened the package because for something so large the lightness in weight was a little surprising. It is divided into 2 wide rows of 6 that were thick enough that I had to exert a little bit of muscle to snap the pieces apart. This is certainly sized for sharing with others!

From the top it looks like any other chocolate treat; when I flipped it over I was surprised to see that it looked almost like a rice crispy, which shows just how packed it really is with rice puffs. As with any first bite of something chocolaty it’s a pleasant experience. It’s is just as sweet & smooth as I have come to expect from German chocolate, and exactly as Christina said, not overly sweet. The rice was far fluffier than I had expected since I was thinking of a rice crispy or a Krackle bar. This was similar to both but still very distinctive because it was so packed with puffed rice. I think that because of the rice it just felt so light, not heavy like most of my normal chocolate driven indulgences.

As good as the milk chocolate is I can only imagine how wonderful the dark chocolate would be. Perhaps one of my wonderful readers can come in and try one for me, since I have two weddings to prepare for next year I have to better with my sweet tooth….guess next time I’ll be writing about a salad.

Recently we welcomed a new member to our group behind the counter; sometimes trying the products for the blog can serve as a valuable training opportunity.Looking into our deli case with all the new additions from Stiglemeier with our new guy Jason, the first item to catch our eye is the Schweinebauch, bacon stuffed with beef & pork. The outer skin of the bacon is chewy while the inside is a bit greasy with a wonderfully mild taste of pork & beef with hint of the onion used in the seasoning. The texture on the inside reminds me of a course bologna.

After a small sample of the Schweinebauch itself I wanted to see how it would be used on a sandwich. Not wanting to make a plain sandwich, Sydney stepped up and went about making a simple and tasty meal for us to try.

Sautéing some peppers & onions, she rolled the veggies into the slice with a light drizzle of Dijon mustard, then grilling the roll for a few minutes before placing it between two slices of our Bierbrot.

The combination was absolutely astounding, I knew it would be a great mix but we were all surprised just how good it was. The schweinebach picked up all the flavors of the onion & red peppers, with the Dijons flavor came across as a more sweet than spicy. The bierbrot rounded it all out with its unique taste.

For added spice we added a side of the Dijon for dipping but it wasn’t really needed. What we did enjoy was the Sweet Red Cabbage that is a familiar side from Hollerbach’s Willow Tree Café; it has a sweet and tangy profile from the Granny Smith Apples used in the recipe.

It’s always exciting when we get new things in the store and last week was no exception. We have been working on making it possible to get in the quality products from Stiglmeier Sausage Co. for some time. At long last we are able to bring in 40 new items to add to our deli case and freezer. Some of them are more familiar and easier to recognize, others…not so much, but that is why I am here writing about all the fantastic food from Germany and other parts of Europe.

The nice thing about Stiglmeier is that like the Hollerbach’s it is a family owned operation. Anton & Gertraud Stiglmeier immigrated to Chicago where in 1960 they started the Stiglmeier Sausage Company, using traditional Bavarian and other German recipes.

The items I’ve tried today are 3 smoked sausages that can be eaten directly from the display case.

Kilometer- Smoked, Spicy Hungarian Sausage. Not overly spicy, especially at first after a moment there was a very pleasant burn, very tasty. Blows a slim jim out of the water, more moist with a nice pepper taste.

Last month I went on a two week adventure, spending time in South Korea, Hawaii & Southern Utah. Over that period I tried a variety of cultural food, treats & local favorites. As a person who enjoys trying new and exciting things I was in absolute heaven! This was my very first trip off of the continent & out of the country. I’ve been dreaming for years about traveling the world and realized that I’ve been settling by experiencing the cultures through their food.

Now I realize that a taste is not enough!

Because I want to get back out there and get lost in another new and faraway place I just need to get back to work and start planning!

Speaking of work…. Now that I’m back home and over my jetlag I started walking the floor of the market and chatting with my co-workers about food ideas to write about. Our discussion turned to a couple of guests that had been in earlier that day who had asked some questions about our specialty flavored pastas, specifically our Chocolate, and Gingerbread pasta.

I had tried the Chocolate pasta before and liked it. Then again what’s NOT to like about chocolate and a scoop of ice cream?

Dessert pasta is something I had never heard of, or even imagined until we opened the market and it came in with our first deliveries. Theo had to explain it to me and gave me a few examples of how it could be served because I just kept thinking Chocolate…Pasta?

I took it home boiled it in milk and gave it a whirl. I enjoyed its unique taste and texture hot out of the pot with a scoop of cold vanilla ice cream it worked well. So when we got to talking about the Gingerbread pasta I was only hesitant because I couldn’t think of a way it could be served, which is where my co-worker Chris comes into play.

He walks through the store & kitchen grabbing a few items and in no time he tells me that it’s ready. I walk into the kitchen and in true Chef form he has a fancily dressed plate with a mid-day dessert. His creation: Gingerbread Pasta in Apple-Cinnamon Ragout with Lingonberry Sorbet.

The gingerbread pasta was the exact texture that I had remembered from the chocolate one I had tried. It was slightly dense but not enough to make it chewy. The flavor is very mild and combined with the strong and often overpowering taste of Granny Smith Apples & Cinnamon. Overall the taste reminded me of the Hollerbach’s apple strudel that we make.

The lingonberry sorbet he made using a jar of our Maintal Wild Lingonberry premium fruit spread, which is delicious with its whole berries. I’ve never had fresh, made from scratch sorbet before. It was overly sweet but still wonderful with the frozen texture and berries, I let it soften a little and it became like a sugary fruit smoothie.

On the bright side of having so many sweets mid-day I have been able to power through writing this blog in record time, whew Sugar RUSH!!!

Anyone out there have a recommendation for my next adventure?

Gingerbread Pasta in Apple-Cinnamon Ragout

1 Granny Smith Apple- peeled and cut in small cubes

¾ cup Apple juice

9 tbl Sugar

1 tsp Cinnamon

2 tbl chopped Pecans

Starch (to thicken ragout)

Brown the sugar in a sauce pan and then add juice. Let the sugar dissolve and add the apples & cinnamon. Let simmer for 3 mins and mix starch with a little bit of water. Add starch mixture slowly to the apple till perfect consistency (it has to be creamy, not to thick). Set aside and let it cool down.

Boil water (or milk if you prefer) add the gingerbread pasta and 6oz of sugar. Cook for 9 mins, strain and keep pasta warm.

Well it is about time I got back to writing about the tasty food in our market! Like always I was taking a stroll through the market when a spotted a jar that had lost its label. Since it was in its proper spot it was easy to tell that the poor naked jar was one of our Hungarian products from BENDE, Stuffed Yellow Peppers. I looked to see if I could find where the label had fallen to see if there was any way to fix it, but alas it was long gone. Since we can’t sell an item without a label I decided that fate had intervened and it was to be my newest subject.

As always, when I have an item that I don’t have any experience with I start asking around (it is so handy that I work around so many chefs). I went first to Chef Garyn, who is a 3rd generation Hungarian American, to see if this was something he was familiar with. He said that he had seen it used with food that was similar to Antipasto; the other Chefs agreed that the best way for me to sample this was with salami. Up front Chef Josh gave me a small handful of our Cittero salami slices & cut up the end piece for me to use.

Back at my desk I laid out the salami pieces and popped open the jar. “WHOA!!” was the exact reaction to the smell that hit me in the face. The smell of yellow pepper was so overwhelming that it took me completely by surprise. I love hot & spicy things but even I was concerned that I may end up regretting this one. I forked out all 7 of the peppers and added them to the plate to take pictures, the smell was quick to abate and I began to feel more at ease while I took photographs.

Finally I took a deep breath and began. Now I’m not real orthodox when it comes to how I sample everything, I took a big slice of salami curled it around the bottom of the pepper making a salami and stuffed pepper taco and took a bite.

I was relieved that the pepper was not as hot as I had been working it up in my mind. The pepper flavor & heat are what I tasted first, followed briefly by a subtle taste of vinegar before the pepper came back with more of a light burn while I savored the crunch of the cabbage and meaty taste of the salami.

With the following peppers I tried different ways to dress them up for presentation (maybe I was playing with my food a little). I stuffed salami wedges in the sides, it was not a pretty look and when I ate that one I felt like I was just eating a plain stuffed yellow pepper, and it hid the flavor and texture of the salami and made me realize that the salami slice actually helps offset the hotness of the pepper.

The best way I found was simply to cut the pepper in half and wrap it into a salami roll. I was only able to coerce two of my coworkers into giving them a try and they each had different reactions to how hot the peppers were. The one agreed with me that it was just within the threshold for being really spicy but still enjoyable enough that neither of us felt a need to go scrambling for a glass of milk. Our other coworker felt it was really spicy and said her mouth was on fire.

I believe that if this was cut up used in an antipasto salad with some pasta & chunks of salami and served cold it would be a big hit at a summer gathering.

The market has been open for over a year and a half now. In that time we have been learning as we go. With conversations and over feedback from our guests we are always striving to improve ourselves& exceed expectations. When we have a guest looking for a specific item they enjoyed back home in Germany, the conversation is usually followed by a call or email to our distributors & their importers. One thing that many of our guests have asked for is something hot to add to our sandwich menu. We have finally figured out a way to make this request a reality.

This week we introduced our new weekly hot special, and what a great week to start! Our usually hot & humid Florida day’s suddenly turned chilly. When everyone else was pulling out their coats & sweaters, Chef Josh wheeled out his smoker. Using our whole pork loins he set to work. Once the pork was perfectly smoked he made an Aventinus BBQ from one of our popular German beers.

The pulled pork was so different in the most unique and wonderful way. Every bite was tender & juicy, falling apart with the unmistakable smoky flavor beneath the BBQ. The sauce picks up and carries the flavor profile of the Aventinus beer used in its creation. It shared the rich wheaty, taste of the dopple bock.

I’m not a big fan of coleslaw’s. I usually end up with the kind that is drowned in mayo and sits in the pit of my stomach, or so soggy it should be described as a soup. However I’ve learned from experience that Chef Josh…knows what he’s doing. So while I was little apprehensive at first I figured as always I’d be pleasantly surprised by his recipe.

It is almost sweet, not tangy at all. The shredded cabbage & carrots were all crisp & crunchy. It was covered with just enough sauce to flavor the bite. What I really liked was that it felt light & fresh, not heavy.

On their own the BBQ Pulled Pork & coleslaw were the perfect way to sit back and re-live summer cookouts just one last time before the winter sets in. However when Chef Josh was planning this out in his head he had a totally different idea in mind. The pulled pork goes on the sandwich WITH the coleslaw & a few slices of dill pickle. I can only imagine the look of horror on my face, but after a little while I remembered that when it comes to all things culinary Josh won’t let me down. So I sat down at my desk with a Schweine-Q and dove in before I could psych myself out of it. As usually I was glad I tried something new. The heavier smoked taste of the hot pulled pork mixed very well with the cool light flavors of crisp coleslaw. Soft bread and small bite of the pickle rounded out the taste.

If you don’t think you’re ready to be tough like me and mix BBQ & coleslaw you can always enjoying the other way with coleslaw as a side dish. While we are running this special both the Coleslaw & BBQ are available for purchase by the pound.